“It’s Only a Paper Moon”
Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose
Prologue, Scene 14
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Written in 1933, “It’s Only a Paper Moon” is considered to be the only memorable song in the unsuccessful musical, The Great Magoo. The musical is centered on a Coney Island dancehall girl who briefly rises to radio fame and the composer who helped her do so, the composer who, in the show, wrote “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” It was subsequently used in the 1933 movie Take a Chance, and became a hit when it was covered by Paul Whiteman, an American bandleader/composer and proclaimed “King of Jazz.” The song later gained worldwide popularity and lasting fame during World War II, when it was covered by American jazz musicians Ella Fitzgerald and the Nat King Cole Trio. Due to its popularity in the jazz community, the song has since been used as a means of improvisation for numerous musicians.
“Anything Goes”
Written by Cole Porter
Scene 5
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The title song for Cole Porter’s 1934 musical Anything Goes, “Anything Goes” is a rousing tap number that pokes fun at the many scandalous characters that lived in Depression-Era America. While it appears to be a love song on the surface, “Anything Goes” is a little more satirical, almost criticizing how fast society changes. The song outlines the change from the very conservative early 1900s to the post-flapper era 1930s, mentioning such people like actress and sex symbol Mae West, who was known for her seductive style, and the McLeans, a couple known for their alcoholism and drug addiction.
Reno Sweeney, who herself goes from conservative evangelist to nightclub singer, has been performed by a slew of Broadway legends, from the original performer Ethel Merman to Patti Lupone (1988) to Sutton Foster in the 2011 Broadway Revival. Porter has revised the song multiple times throughout his life, finally setting the lyrics in stone in 1959.
“I Wanna Be Loved By You”
Music written by Herbert Stothart and Harry Ruby, Lyrics by Bert Kalmar
Scene 8
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“I Wanna Be Loved By You” was originally featured in the 1928 musical Good Boy, written by Oscar Hammerstein II, Herbert Stothart, Otto Harbach, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Premiering towards the tail end of the “Roaring 20s,” Good Boy was a musical comedy about two Mid-Western brothers who move to New York City to get a job in a chorus, their mother warning them to be “good boys” and to avoid the temptations of 1920s Manhattan. Despite the mother reprimanding the two brothers for indulging in big city trends (like jazz), the musical was very pro-1920s, as the two boys eventually become rich and successful performers. In a time that had transitioned from the restrictive 1900s to the very liberated 1920s, Good Boy showed public support for the widespread social change. Even though it was generally successful, “I Wanna Be Loved By You” is the only memorable song from the show.